Saudi sisters stranded in Hong Kong after fleeing family granted emergency humanitarian visas to stay in undisclosed third country
- Law firm announces on Monday evening that Reem, 20, and Rawan, 18, left Hong Kong last week
- Pair are now beginning their lives as free young women and leading lives as equal human beings, says lawyer
Two sisters who fled Saudi Arabia and their family have been granted emergency humanitarian visas to stay in an undisclosed third country after being stranded in Hong Kong for more than six months.
The law firm of Michael Vidler, who was assisting the pair, announced on Monday evening that Reem, 20, and Rawan, 18, left Hong Kong last week.
“We are thrilled that our story has a happy ending and that we have found our way to safety to restart our lives free of violence and oppression,” the pair said in a statement.
“We wish for our story to offer hope to others who face similar situations. We want to say loud and clear to the Saudi authorities and other regimes which treat women unequally: never underestimate the strength of brave women.”
Reem and Rawan (not their real names) fled to Hong Kong in September from a family holiday in Sri Lanka and were planning to fly on to Australia when, they say, they escaped a kidnap attempt orchestrated by the Saudi consulate at Hong Kong International Airport.
Two months after their arrival in the city, their Saudi passports were revoked, forcing the sisters, who renounced their Muslim faith, to stay in Hong Kong.
Their escape prompted a pursuit by their father and uncle – high-ranking officials in Saudi Arabia – who flew to Hong Kong to file missing persons reports to police.
Saudi sisters stranded in Hong Kong remain hopeful as deadline approaches
Vidler said: “After six months of hiding in Hong Kong from Saudi authorities and their family, these strong, brave and determined young women have finally been able to secure humanitarian visas to a third country place of safety.”
He added that the two were now beginning their lives as free young women, looking forward to assimilating into the local culture, contributing to their new home and leading lives as equal human beings.
We are thrilled that our story has a happy ending and that we have found our way to safety to restart our lives free of violence and oppression
“To ensure their future security we will not be disclosing the third country where the sisters are now living, nor will we be providing any further details regarding the process of their applications, departure from Hong Kong or their new lives. The sisters will not be giving any further media interviews,” Vidler said.
Lynn Maalouf, Middle East research director at Amnesty International, said the sisters showed immense courage and took huge risks to escape repeated abuse by their relatives.
“Reem and Rawan’s male relatives got away with repeated beatings because of the lack of adequate protection against domestic violence in the country. This is only one facet of the systemic discrimination that Saudi women face under Saudi Arabia’s repressive guardianship system,” she said.
“This system not only treats women like second-class citizens, it places them in grave danger. No woman or girl should fear for their life like Reem and Rawan did. Saudi Arabia must urgently reform the guardianship system and end the whole range of discriminatory laws and practices women face.”
The Post reported earlier in March that the pair had been allowed to stay in the city until April 8.
The decision bought the pair more time for their asylum request to a third country to be processed.
A source familiar with the situation said the Immigration Department had allowed the sisters to stay in Hong Kong until early April as “tolerated overstayers” on humanitarian grounds.
Additional reporting by Tony Cheung
